Is Gal Gadot to Blame for MuslimGirl’s F*#K You To REVLON?

{This article was originally published in The Forward on January 18, 2018; The Forward retains all legal rights to it}

Can you imagine in 2018 someone publicly exclaiming “I’m not sitting next to this black lady on the subway!” and then taking to Twitter and Instagram to voice validation for their vile, preposterous statement.

Switch out the African American woman with a Jewish one and change the subway scenario to a Revlon Awards Dinner and this is exactly the turmoil New Jersey born blogger Amani al-Khatahtbeh is currently finding herself in.

Amani al-Khatahbeh, Teen Vogue

“As much as this means to me and I would love to be there to celebrate with you, I cannot accept this award from Revlon with Gal Gadot as the ambassador,” she wrote in a post on her personal Twitter account.

Gal Gadot, Hollywood’s current it girl and star of the Box Office sensation Wonder Woman, is often quoted in the press speaking of her pride in both Judasim and being an Israeli. Gadot, like all Israeli citizens, was required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which she did for two years during the 2006 Israel-Labanon war as a combat trainer.

Amani al-Khatahbeh continued voicing her displeasure with Gadot and Israel writing “I can’t, in good conscience, accept this award from the brand and celebrate Gal’s ambassadorship after the IDF imprisoned a 16-year-old girl named Ahed Tamimi last month, an activist who is currently still incarcerated.” Tamimi, a minor with a very long (and documented) history of physical violence, was arrested last month after her family proudly videotaped her kicking and slapping an IDF soldier. Tamimi is being held in detention until her trial. One’s mind starts to wonder what would have happened to Tamimi if she slapped a soldier in an Islamic country like Saudi Arabia or Quatar rather than a democratic country like Israel.

This type of polarizing behavior is not the first we have seen in the Arab world. Just last week, acclaimed Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab (samples of his design productions are listed below along with their hefty prices) posted an image of Gadot on Instagram wearing one of his gowns to an awards show in New York. He removed the post after hundreds anti-Israel social media trolls voiced their displeasure, some threating action against his family.

As peace between Israeli’s and Palestinian’s seems more and more like an unattainable mirage, influencers like al-Khatahbeh and Saab should be using their platforms for more cohesive dialogue and building bridges rather than partaking in continued tradional division.

2 comments

They don’t have to tell the truth. They invent it and the world believes them because they aren’t Jews. Better to defend terrorists that cut off heads over people who the world believes are too successful.